Very Short Interview No. 1

My interview was with Marla H., a business owner and founder a small construction estimating firm. Marla is one of my professors, but offers real world experiences from her time in the construction industry. She's been in the estimating business for around 26 years, but started her own company after working for a large general contractor for about 5 years (Marla didn't mention the name of her business, that was my error for forgetting to ask).

Here were the questions I asked with Marla's replies:


What was an unexpected challenge you met starting your own business?

It was near the end of my first year owning the firm, things were running fairly smoothly, that I realized I'd completely forgotten to include self-employment taxes in all of my costs to my clients... I ended up making about 2/3 the revenue than I'd originally estimated. Had I done more research in small businesses 

What is one thing you would tell people who are wishing to start their  own business?

Besides the tax mishap, I think I was mostly successful because I decided to work for a larger, well-established company before starting my own business. Knowing the mistakes I might make before they unexpectedly happen played a huge role. I was able to plan ahead and even stay one step in front of some of my competition, especially when the housing market tanked not to long ago. Also, stay as technologically literate as possible in your field. This will create value for you as an employee, but more importantly keep you just as competitive as a larger firm.

Why did you decide to start your own business?

Well, why does anyone? I loved my work, but didn't really like my hours all that much. I wanted more flexibility and never seemed to be able to take a day off; that being said, what could be better than making my own hours? I'd say I spend about 6-8 hours working, and that's if I only have one project. 


After interviewing Marla, I'm more determined than ever to pursue my own business after college. I'll be starting in the construction industry as well, but whether it's in consulting, contracting, or some law, I'm not entirely sure. I loved what she said about starting out with a larger company before making the jump to start her own; getting to know the business before having to deal with it on your own is a valuable lesson to take away from this interview.